2025 MATRA PROGRAMME CALL FOR CONCEPT NOTES

1. Priority topics and regions for 2025 MATRA Call

The Embassy of the Netherlands is happy to invite civil society organizations to submit a project concept with one of the following objectives:

• Strengthening local democracy and inclusive participation of citizens in the decision-making process, promoting good governance and anti-corruption practices in the regions;
• Supporting veterans and their successful transition from military to civilian life;

Furterhmore, MATRA Programme 2025 will focus on specific regions, namely Poltava, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.

2. Project duration and amount of funding

Applicants can propose projects with a minimum duration 24 months and maximum duration 36 months. Implementation of the proposed projects should start no earlier than July 2025.

The value of the grant will vary between 300.000 EUR – 400.000 EUR.

The budget may comprise management costs, including administrative costs and services, as well as the re-granting fund, which are the funds given directly to sub-grantees.

Not eligible for funding under the MATRA program:
- Humanitarian aid and charity
- Support for political parties
- Commercial activities
- Projects with a predominantly academic focus, i.e. feasibility studies, research, etc.
- Projects that exclusively or largely include the delivery of goods or materials
- Infrastructural projects
- Individual scholarships
- Entertainment costs
- Proposal preparation costs

3. Applicant organisations requirements

• Be a registered Ukrainian NGO with non-profit status according to the Ukrainian legislation;
• Have a proven management capacity, and expertise in the selected priority topic;
• Have an expertise and previous background of work in targeted regions;
• Have previous proven experience of implementing projects within the theme of proposed intervention.

4. Selection criteria for the project concept

The project concept will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

• Have innovative idea with clear impact;
• Demonstrate how the proposed activities will achieve the measurable and meaningful results;
• Present cost efficiency and clarity of the financial proposals;
• Not duplicate activities funded by other donors;

Any project concept not meeting the substantive or technical requirements will be disqualified without appraisal.

5. Submission of project concept

To submit the project concept please:

1. Fill in the 2025 MATRA organizational profilm form
2. Submit the project concept in the presentation (up to 7 slides, PDF or PPTX file format, up to 8 MB) covering the following information:

• The idea of the project
• Problems to be solved
• Target groups and their involvement
• Project’s activities and timeline
• Expected results and impact
• Budget (total, MATRA contribution, 3 largest expenses)

The applicants of the shortlisted concepts will be invited to pitch online their projects to the Embassy. Following this, selected civil society organizations will be required to submit a detailed project proposal and budget. Organizations will be notified of the final decision only after all stages have been completed.

As the MATRA Programme operates within a fixed budget, project proposals may not be selected, even if all requirements are met.

6. Deadline for project concept submission

Deadline for submission a project concept is 6 April 2025. The application package should be prepared in English and sent with a title as 2025 MATRA Call / Organisation’s name and forwarded via e-mail.

All questions related to this call for project concept should be forwarded via e-mail till 28 March 2025.